Apparatus for screening sugar beets and the like



March 2, 1954 (5. W. RIENKS ET AL 2,670,846

APPARATUS FOR SCAREENING SUGAR BEETS AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 11, 1947 Patented Mar. 2, 1954 APPARATUS FOR SCREENING SUGAR BEETS AND THE LIKE George W.Ricnks and Harold F. Silver, Denver, 0010.

Application December 11, 1947, Serial No. 790,960

1 Claim. 1 r

This invention relates to screening apparatus and particularly to such apparatus for separating dirt and foreign matter from agricultural products such as sugar beets.

The present invention is an improvement on the invention disclosed and claimed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,899,292 granted to George W. Rienks. Screening apparatus of the type disclosed in the Rienks patent has proved highly satisfactory in the separation of dirt and leafy matter from sugar beets particularly when the material is dry. However, when the earthy matter is wet and particularly when it is of a muddy consistency or includes small rocks, difficulty has been encountered in effectively cleaning the beets. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a screening apparatus for sugar beets and the like including an improved arrangement for removing dirt and foreign matter from the beets or other articles to be cleaned.

It is another object of this invention to provide a screening apparatus for effectively removing earthy matter of muddy consistency from sugar beets and the like and preventing delays due to rocks wedging between the elements and stopping the screen.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a, screening apparatus of the rotating type for sugar beets and the like, including an improved construction for facilitating the handling and removal of rocks and similar rigid bodies with minimum danger of damage or delay to the apparatus or of injury to the beets.

With the above and other objects in view, this invention comprises the combinations and arrangements of devices hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a screening apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly broken away, of the apparatus of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of an apparatus similar to that of Figs. 1 and 2, illustrating a modification of the invention.

Briefly, the apparatus shown in the drawing, and which will be described in detail below, comprises a screening table of the grizzly type which is made up of a series of rotary units driven to revolve in the same direction. Each of the units is constructed with a series of spaced agitators or rotary elements overlapping and staggered with respect to those of adjacent units. The spacing of the agitators is such that sugar beets or similar products cannot pass therebetween and, as" the mass of beets to be cleaned moves over the screen, the associated dirt and'trash falls through the screen. In order to clean sugar beets and other products which have muddy materials adhering to them, the screen is arranged to produce combined agitating and impelling actions; In one embodiment, every other rotary unit is made up of especially formed-agitating members and the intermediate rotary units are made up of disks. In a modified form, agitating members and disks are arranged alternately on each-rotary unit.

Referring now to the drawing, the screening apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a feed belt I for supplying thebeets moving members arranged to rotate in the same direction and to convey the material toward an auxiliary screening unit 3 formed of two rotary members 4 and 5 arranged to rotate in the opposite direction from that of'the members of the main unit. The belt I is driven by a suitable motor (not shown) which is connected to drive a shaft 6 on which a belt supporting roller 1 is mounted. The roller and its shaft togethercwith the main and auxiliary screening units are mounted on a structural framework includingv to the tops of the side bars l0. All the shafts project beyond their bearing boxesat one side of the apparatus'and are provided with driving connections to rotate the six'shafts simultane-* ously in the same direction. -In order to conmet the driving motor, the right-hand end shaft I3 is made to extend farther to the side of the frame than the others to receive a driving sprocket I5 connected by'a chain It to the motor (not shown). A second sprocket on the righthand shaft 13 drives all the remainings'hafts 13 through sprockets of the same diameter con nected by a series of sprocket chains l1. Thus} all the shafts l3 are'drivensimultaneously in a iclockwise direction- "as viewed in- Fig. 1;:i. 2,. 5.

or othermaterial to be cleaned to a main screening unit 2 which includesa plurality-of:v rotary. material Alternate ones of the material moving units of the main screening unit are of different types; the first, third and fifth units being material agitating units; the second and fourth being material disk units; and the sixth being a different type of agitating unit, as shown, or alternatively may be a disk unit. It has been found that by subjecting sugar beets or similar ma terial to a combined agitating and im'pelling action as it moves over the screen, it is possible to remove earthy matter even when it is of a muddy consistency. The first three agitating units are formed by mountings. series of agitat ing members [8 on the first, third and fifth shafts l3. Each member It comprises aunt lBa Iidsi-X- radial curved arms 20, the arms being curved away from the direction of rotation so that eacharm presents a rounded kicker projection to the material passing over the screen. The diskunits are constructed by mounting a series of plain disks 2i on the-second and fourthshafts l3: Each disk comprises a hub 22- and an-outwardly' extending flat portion 23. The disk members are made: of the'sam'ediameter as the agitating members, and the'shafts l3-arespaced at distances'lessthan thisdiameter so thatthe agitating and disk members overlap; The members on adjacent shafts: are staggered as clearly-- shown in Fig. 2, spacing collars 2t being arranged at the two ends of: alternate shafts it to maintain the staggered: relationship; The last agitating unit on the right-hand end of the main unit 2 may comprise a-seriesofagitating wheels 25 having hubs 25 and scalloped rims-2l presentingi rounded projections to the material being; screened. The wheels 25' are; spaced and staggered in the same: way as the other members and overlap the agitating members it" on theadjacent shaft l3.- Discs 2!- may be substituted forthe wheels 25 desired; and in-some instances constitute amore effective structure.

The agitating: members l8 may be formed from elastoplast-material-According to Hackhs Chemical Dictionary,.third edition, 1944; elastoplast is asubstance;- having both" elastic and.-

plastic properties.

This final unitf the-main screen imparts a less violent kicking: actionthan the wheels 18; anddelivers the beetsto the-auxiliary: screen 3, bothunits 4 and ofwhich rotate inthe opposite direction,- that is,- counterclockwise asviewed in Fig. l.-

The units 4=and 5 and 28,.respectively; supported at their ends in a'suitable frame (not shown); and each unit comprises a series of scalloped wheels 36 which are of substantially the sameshape as the wheels:25.: Furthermore, each of the wheels ea kicker lug iii-at its rim.-

'69 the shafts 28' and- 29 are rotated ninety degreesso thatthey liein a-helicalpath about the-units 4-- and 5. The shaft 18 is driven from the end is providedwith a short The lugs 31 of adjacent wheels- 30 oneachof are mounted on shafts 28 shaft 13 by gears 32- and 33 wh-ich-reverse the direction of rotation. The shaft 29 is-driven-inthesame" direction as .1 the shaft 28"- by? suitable sprocketsand a sprocket chain 34: These re versely rotating units of-the auxiliary screen effect the final separation of "dirt or other foreign matter from: the treated articles.-

The-spacing'of alt the material moving mem here on the: several-shafts andthe" spacing of the: shafts from one another issuch: that v the beets or" large pieces thereof 1- cannot pass through V the spaces between themembers and are there 4 fore carried along continuously from one end of the apparatus to the other. The slope or pitch of the auxiliary screening unit is such that the beets continue toward the discharge chute although lighter material is picked up and rejected by the units 4 and 5.

In the drawing all the agitating units l8 have been shown with their arms 20 in alir'ie'rnent in order to avoid complication of the drawing; however, adjacent arms are preferably rotated ninety degrees in the same manner as the lugs 31 of the wheels-ill. This provides a better distribution ofthe arms 20 over the screening surface, and decreases the opportunity for beets to become lodged in the screen.

During the operation of the apparatus the beets delivered from the belt I move over the main screening unit and pass alternately from an agitating section to a disk section. This action is such that dry earth and other material is readily separated from the beets, but it also readily removeswet material and masses of mud. Thus the'ap'paratus may be employed effectively during either dry or wet weather, and drying of the beets before screening is not necessary. The arrangement of alternate agitators and disks thus provides a simple and effective arrangement for increasing the utility of the rotary type screening apparatus and prevents wedging-action from rocks.

In Fig. 3 there is illustrated another embodimerit of the invention involving a different ar-' rangement oi the agitating members l8 and disks '2'! onthe shafts It. In this arrangement both disks and agitating members are mounted on each of the shafts alternately along the length of the shaft. Thus it will beobserved that beets Or other articles moving along the screen are subjected to both agitating and impelling action by each shaft; but also that beets moving along a given linemay contact agitating and disk surfaces alternately as they move from one rotating unit to the'next. Thus in this apparatus as well as that of Fig. 1 thematerial is subjected to a combined agitation and imp-elling action.

Although the screening apparatus has been describe'das' comprising six rotary units in the main screening section, it will be understood that the "number of units is to be selected in accordance with the particular work to be done in any casei Furthermore, the construction and arrangement of theauxiliary screening unit may be varied to suit spe'ci'fic condition's of operation; for example; the slope of the auxiliary rotary units may be varied according-to the characteristics of the products to be handled.

During the continuous handling of large quantities of sugar beets and similar products, rocks and-other hard bodies are aptto be delivered-to the apparatus. In order to facilitate the handl'ing of such bodies and also to increase th effectiveness of the screening-action of the disks in-removing' mud from the beets, the several forms of agitatingmembers and also the-disks may be constructed of a readily flexible material, such as rubber. Not only does this rubber construction help the screening action but also there is much-less chance of damage to the beets which are sometimes broken when struck by rigid agitating" members or kickers.

From the foregoing-it is readily apparent that there'hasbeen provided a simple and easily con structed apparatus for effectively removing earth, mud, or other foreign matter from sugar beets '75- and-- the like. Furthermore, the apparatusreduces the time required for servicing the screening devices due to breakage, and also decreases the breakage of the beets or other products handled by the apparatus.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, other arrangements will occur to those skilled in the art. It is not, therefore, desired that the invention be limited to the particular constructions shown and described and it is intended by the appended claim to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

A screening apparatus for sugar beets and the like comprising a plurality of spaced parallel shafts mounted for rotation in the same direction, a plurality of conveyor members formed of elastoplast material having a laterally thick hub and a centrally disposed and radially extended disk adapted to be mounted on said shafts, a plurality of agitating members formed of elastoplast material having laterally thick hubs and centrally disposed kicker arms, each of said kicker arms comprising a substantially radial portion extending from the hub and a terminal portion curved rearwardly relative to the direction of rotation of said agitating members substantially at right angles to said radial portion and adapted to be mounted on the shafts of said apparatus, said conveyor members and said agitating members being of a diameter greater than the distance between adjacent shafts, and said agitator members and conveyor members being positioned 'on said shafts with the kicker members mounted on one shaft disposed adjacent to disk members mounted on an adjacent shaft, said conveyor and agitator members being disposed in staggered relation to provide passages downwardly through said apparatus for the escape of dirt, rocks and debris, said passages being of greater total cross sectional area than the total cross sectional area of said disks and said agitator arms, and each of the individual passages formed between said disks and kicker arms being adapted to receive and pass rocks or the like of substantially greater dimension than the said passage due to the deformation of said disks and kicker arms.

GEORGE W. RIENKS. HAROLD F. SILVER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 814,346 Benjamin Mar. 6, 1906 1,524,360 Lauritzen Jan. 27, 1925 1,641,777 Nev/house Sept. 6, 1927 1,699,718 Robins Jan. 22, 1929 1,899,737 Ulrich Feb. 28, 1933 1,941,147 Johlige Dec. 26, 1933 2,257,352 Silver Sept. 30, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 608,375 Germany Jan. 22, 1935 65,950 Norway Nov. 9, 1940 

